News

Fuel Contract with the Metropolitan Police

ITM Power (AIM: ITM), the energy storage and clean fuel company, is pleased to announce the signing of a fuel contract with the Metropolitan Police and to provide an update to shareholders on progress with hydrogen generation and refuelling station capacity in its UK network.

On 26 March 2018 ITM Power announced it will receive £4.3m out of a total £8.8m OLEV funding to deliver the largest expansion of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure ever undertaken in the UK, and the roll out of 200 new Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) over the next 12 months. The project includes FCEVs being procured by emergency services such as the Metropolitan Police. ITM Power is now pleased to announce the signing of a fuel contract to supply hydrogen to the Met Police’s new fleet of FCEVs.

About the Metropolitan Police Fleet
The Met is committed, alongside the Mayor, to making their service as environmentally friendly as possible and a big part of that work is ensuring that the fleet is green. Since late 2015 the Met have been actively exploring ways to hybridise and electrify their fleet as well as exploring other new technologies such as hydrogen. This is enabling the Met to make great strides towards their ambition of procuring 550 vehicles as zero or ultra-low emission by 2020.

Jiggs Bharij, Head of Fleet Services, Metropolitan Police said; “We are working closely with ITM Power to roll out our new fleet of zero emission vehicles. The quick refuelling time, comparable to that of a traditional internal combustion engine vehicle, and long driving range make Toyota’s hydrogen powered fuel cell electric vehicle an ideal zero emission response vehicle.”

Jon Hunt, Alternative Fuels Manager, Toyota GB said: “We are delighted that the Met Police have selected the Toyota Mirai as the new zero emission response vehicle of choice. The emergency services, taxi fleets, and other return to base vehicle operators are important early adopters of hydrogen technology which will help pave the way for more widespread adoption of FCEVs. “

ITM Power CEO, Dr. Graham Cooley, said: “I am delighted to announce our continued partnership with the Met Police in assisting with the roll out of their new fleet of FCEV response vehicles. This demonstrates significant progress in ITM Power’s strategic objective of providing refuelling services to operators of return to base FCEV fleets with heavy cycle usage. Establishing the infrastructure necessary to support these types of users is a first step in building out a national network of green hydrogen refuelling stations, which is an essential precursor to the large-scale adoption of FCEVs in the longer term. Working alongside our partners, Shell, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai, we are now in a strong position to lead this large-scale adoption in the UK.”

Update on ITM Power’s HRS Network
ITM Power currently has 12 wholly owned Hydrogen Refuelling Station (HRS) assets in its UK portfolio. Five are open to the public and three are already under construction and due to open at the end of Q2 2018. Four further stations, now fully funded and in the planning stages, are due to open at the end of Q1 2019. These stations have been funded by the European Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (the FCH JU), Innovate UK and the UK Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

ITM Power’s HRSs incorporate on-site hydrogen production via electrolysis together with compression,
storage and dispensing equipment. The total hydrogen generation capacity (electrolyser capacity) of all these
HRSs when fully deployed will be 3,000 kg/day (3.0 Tonnes/day). The dispensing capacity will be deliberately
oversized at 7,300 kg/day (7.3 Tonnes/day). This combined with the on-site hydrogen storage will support
peak refuelling events often associated with rush hour traffic, and continued expansion in on-site production
in step with continued vehicle roll out. This approach minimises initial HRS costs while optimizing refuelling
logistics during busy periods.

FCEV Vehicle Fleet
The Toyota Mirai has a fuel tank with a capacity of 5kg which provides a range of c.300 miles. Based on an
average number of vehicle miles driven per year in the UK of 7,900 miles, each FCEV could be expected to use
c.130kg of hydrogen per annum, for which ITM Power is currently paid £10+VAT/kg.

The next wave of FCEV deployment sees 200 extra vehicles rolling out in the UK over the next 12 months, and
the majority of these vehicle users are expected to consist of high mileage users, such as taxis and the
emergency services. All ITM Power HRSs are based on electrolytic hydrogen generated on site. Where possible
ITM Power is exploring options to increase the range of vehicle types that can be refuelled; in Birmingham, for
example, the same electrolyser generation station will have refuelling areas for both FCEV passenger cars and
buses.

Sylvie Childs, Senior Product Manager, Hyundai Motor UK said: “Hyundai is pleased to support the continued development of the UK hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, which will enable mainstream adoption of fuel cell vehicles. Greater adoption will significantly reduce the costs of clean mobility making it more viable to more
people. Working with ITM Power we feel there is a strong momentum towards hydrogen which is clearly
illustrated by the recent opening of the UK’s first ‘under the canopy’ hydrogen refuelling station at
Beaconsfield Services. We are looking forward to introducing our all-new semi-autonomous 500-mile range
fuel cell vehicle, NEXO, to the UK market early next year.”

Project Partners

This project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 779538. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe, as well as Hydrogen Europe Research.